1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to roller skates, and in particular, relates to self propelled roller skates requiring no additional energy from the user thereof other than the shifting of his own body weight and alternately raising the front portion of his foot small amounts.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Various types of roller skates are known in the art, all of which have been suggested by inventors for use by individuals to help them engage in more rapid movement along a flat surface while expending relatively small amounts of energy. Typical of these roller skates is U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,119 issued to C. M. Sweet on Nov. 26, 1963. The device disclosed therein utilizes an articulated frame mechanism with a plurality of wheels on the front portion of the skate and a braking portion provided by the heel portion. The user of the skates can adjust his weight to accomplish braking, by leaning backwardly (putting the weight on the shoe heels) or by leaning in a forwardly direction, the weight is placed on the rotating wheels thereby providing movement over a flat surface. However, with this type of device, it is necessary that the wearer of the roller skate use large amounts of energy to obtain movement through a movement commonly referred to as "pumping" wherein one foot of the individual is used to push while the weight of the body is placed on the wheel portion of the skate. This pumping action is repeated alternately between feet, obtaining locomotion on a flat surface. Relatively large amounts of energy are required to obtain movement.
Another type of roller or shoe skate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,643 issued to W. Schreyer et al on Oct. 5, 1976. The apparatus disclosed therein relates to a shoe which may be utilized for walking or roller skating wherein the roller skating apparatus is contained within the sole of the shoe and may be used for either walking or roller skating. Hereagain, once the roller skating mode is selected, the pumping action is required to get locomotion along a flat surface.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the shortcomings known in the prior art by providing a simple roller skating mechanism which can obtain locomotion by merely shifting the wearer's weight from the front portion of one foot to the rear portion of the same foot or from one foot to the other without expending additional energy in a pumping motion.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a reliable and simple roller skate that may be utilized by young as well as old persons for locomotion since minimal amounts of energy are required.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a roller skate which achieves locomotion without requiring pumping by the individual wearing them.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a roller skate which can provide a braking mode so that a more stable and secure operation is obtained.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a roller skate which may be worn by an individual without the fear of falling because of a lack of means to stop the skate.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof, and in which there is shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.